Marcus

Same mistake: Instead of going down to the lower fifth (the whole "gravitas" of the theme) before the triplet, he annoyingly reiterates the tonic. It sounds amateurish.

Williams has used it in many different ways through the years, adding all sorts of rhythmic and harmonic twists, keeping it fresh, while always retaining the elegance and nobility of the theme itself. Kevin Kiner (and whoever was responsible for the musical adaptation for the radio drama) simply doesn't "get" the theme, and ends up vulgarizing it. It has to do with melodic flow and balance, and with musical eloquence. (...Oh and by the way, he still mis-quotes the theme in the "Buzz Droids" cue you mentioned)

If it's intentional, that's even worse. It just sounds lazy and in poor taste...

And it didn't sound any better then! It sounds misremembered, as if going "by ear" and not getting it quite right (and I very much suspect that's the case in both these instances, and it's even more glaring in the radio play example).

Well, he should at least be sensitive to the musicality of the theme. It comes across as illiterate. It doesn't sound like a variation, but merely a mistake (which I think it is).

I suppose you are right. But I definitely think a sampled product should be clearly advertised as such.

Sure, but I find the idea of commercially releasing what are essentially sampled mock-ups less than wholesome.

Are people seriously putting out albums featuring samples? Why not simply spend the budget alloted for making a sampled performance sound half-way decent on hiring a real harpist instead? I'm sure there would be no shortage of real flesh&blood ones who'd be delighted to record these two pieces (none of which are really "studies" for harp...)

Wonderful piece! Interestingly shaped, and an impressive motivic work-out! Loving it! Somewhat surprisingly, I don't think the performance is all that great. Frankly, it seems very under-rehearsed, and some of the tempi seem slower than intended. Would love to hear a better performance of it...

Good job! Reminds me a little bit of some of Corigliano's early works (his more stringently neoclassical/Barber-esque period). I like the very classical, slightly reserved design of your sonata; that sort of thing is hard to pull off without sounding wooden and overly academic, but your piece has life and personality enough to "survive" the approach. Good job indeed!

The last note before the triplet figure: Instead of the lower 5th (Sol), we get the tonic (Do). Sounds awful.

Personally, I think "A.I." is one of Williams' very finest efforts, and it remains one of my favorite scores of all time, and contains passages that I find to be some of the most moving in Williams' entire ouvre. The film certainly has its problematic parts, and it isn't always a perfect drama, but it's still a phenomenal (and phenomenally well crafted) piece of cinema.

Film composers -and other hard working artisans in general- have my sympathy. I don't really harbor hate, but I've sometimes been saddened by the ineptitude, ignorance and distrust I've witnessed from various kinds of "cultural beurocrats" (producers from all walks, financers etc.). Having to deal with people whose aim is only to streamline a product -to make it less dissimilar to whatever they believe to be the pre-existing expectation-, can be a very taxing and disheartening experience. And that's unfortunately something you're likely to run into as a film composer. I've seen talented colleagues make careers out of writing "down", and it's never a pretty sight. It's bad for your soul.

God, I hope this isn't true, and I can't for the life if me think of a good reason why it would be, except if there's already a scheduling conflict, and Williams is only to offer themes and some set-pieces, and Giacchino is set to adapt. Williams seems very invested in this project, so I would be suprised. Unless it's a Spielberg-project... Unfortunately, I have yet to be impressed by Giacchino, and I remain less than convinced about his level of craftsmanship. He would need to hire a really good orchestrator/composer's assistant to help "bridge the gap"... But it could be that Williams has already decided to retire from the Star Wars saga, with Episode VII sort of leaving the gate open for the next composer. And given that Giacchino is Abrams' "go to" guy, it could make some sense, I suppose. Williams doesn't strike me as the kind of composer whose method would really be conducive to "joint ventures", and I would be surprised if he'd be comfortable writing alongside somebody else.

Dear Miguel, I'm so touched; you are much too generous! And I'm so happy you like the site!

Thank you! That piece actually consists only of those four pitches -the entire piece is just those four notes, inspired by the motto inscription on Shostakovich's tombstone. It's probably one of the most radically "minimal" pieces I've written, and one of the most austere. But it was an interesting challenge to try to make it seem as if it contained more pitches. And to somehow obscure the motto, all the while having it be omnipresent (literally). Glad you liked it!

Ah! I had some very informal lessons with John in 2004-5. At MSM, I was in Richard Danielpour's studio, which was great, and I worked as his assistant for my second year of Master's, which was arguably even better. Lots of work, lots of proof reading (he was getting his opera "Margaret Garner" ready for its premiere), but also a great opportunity to work closely (albeit in the wings) with really top notch musicians, and to get a practical perspective. I can imagine working with Glass could have been a similar experience? I never really ventured much down to the Village. Big cities tend to be like that, at least for me: I get very neighborhood-centric. It's like that in Berlin too (where I live now). @Inky: Thank you! I'm so pleased you like it!

Yes! I was at MSM at least for the first half of 2005. And I lingered in the city until 2006, and kept an apartment on LaSalle St. (123rd/Bway); were you there as a composition student?

I'm so glad you've enjoyed it! And you're very generous and kind to say so; thank you so much!

I'm so sorry for the trouble and frustration! Doubly so as I have no idea what you're talking about; I know nothing about servers, GeoCities etc.. I was involved in the design details and the general layout of the website, but not the actual implementing of all the technical stuff. My computer skills are limited to writing emails and posting here and on Facebook... Forgive me!

I just watched the interview with Kiner, and know nothing about the series, the scores or their composer. But I absolutely detest that he mis-quotes something as iconic as the Force Theme!

Again, thank you so much for the very kind comments; they mean a lot to me, and I'm so glad you're enjoying the contents of the new website!

Thank you, all of you, for being so wonderfully generous and kind! (And encouraged by your remark, I've started a new thread, Ludwig!)

Greetings, all of you! Encouraged by comments made in another thread, I'd like to take this opportunity to invite you all to visit my freshly launched website, www.marcuspaus.com! It features a lot of audio selections (including selections from a couple of my film scores), an extensive (albeit still incomplete) worklist, as well as news, various links etc. Hope you'll enjoy! Cheers, Marcus

Greetings, everyone! I'd like to point out that the title of this thread isn't mine, but it seemed like a relevant thread in which to post this: I'm very, very pleased to announce the launch of my website: www.marcuspaus.com! It features lots and lots of audio, as well as a fairly extensive worklist (not yet complete, though), and more. Hope you'll enjoy! Cordially, Marcus